


Darkness Lost In Light

by stepOnMeZenos



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Ambiguous Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Bad Ending, Gen, Lightwarden Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Bad End, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Sin Eater Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23141683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepOnMeZenos/pseuds/stepOnMeZenos
Summary: In another timeline, the Warrior of Light was unable to control the primordial light.In another timeline, Zenos seeks out what has become of them.
Relationships: Zenos yae Galvus/Warrior of Light
Comments: 8
Kudos: 78





	Darkness Lost In Light

**Author's Note:**

> Yesterday, you got the happy. 
> 
> Today, you get the sad.

In the end, travelling to another world had been easier than Zenos had expected.

Leaving his body behind had been… unpleasant, yes. The force that had catapulted him across the rift into this light-ridden world had torn him from his newly reacquired flesh, a uniquely painful sensation that even he could not bring himself to enjoy. The body probably still lay prone on the floor of the royal palace, next to his father's corpse, but it didn't matter. He had no need of it anymore, now. 

What use was a transcendent body if his friend was not here to bring it to its limits and beyond?

The moment he opened his eyes in this foreign world, he saw that it was dying. Light suffused every ilm, assimilating soul after soul. He witnessed them growing still, the everchanging gradoent of colours turning into a monotone white. Alongside the soul, the body mutated into a feral beast, though these ones here were not worth hunting. He had come for a different prey. 

Of the few living souls that remained in his vicinity, he picked out the one with the least pathetic body and invaded it, making it his own. It took longer than he liked to adjust this shell so that it approximated the body he had left behind, but the result was satisfying enough. It would not hinder him in his hunt. 

(The soul he had displaced dissipated into the light.) 

The source of the light, he noted with this strange new sight of his, was to the East, near the ruins of the Crystal Tower. That would be where his prey was. His heartbeat quickened at the thought. The tower still gleamed in the merciless sun, though holes dotted its surface now—majesty, fallen into ruin. A fitting stage for the final curtain call. His friend had chosen well. 

Zenos' only regret was that his entry point into this world lay so far away from it. Accurately aiming his trajectory all the way from the Source had proven too difficult in the end. It would take a whole day's walk to reach it… but he no longer needed to walk, did he? Among the many powers that had manifested within him after his first death, teleporting was, perhaps, one of the most convenient ones. Not only would it allow him to bridge the distance in but a blink of an eye, it would also help him to put his friend to the test. How would they react to him teleporting across the battlefield? Suddenly appearing behind them, poised to strike?

Were anyone else around to witness it, perhaps they would have found it strange to see a plume of darkness erupt in this light-ridden world; but there was no-one except for mindless beasts, even as Zenos arrived in the outskirts of the former city. Signs of battles still lingered here, in shattered weapons lying on the ground, in crumbled buildings, in scorch marks on the ground. Some of the inhabitants had fought back for a time, perhaps, when the light had consumed this world wholly. They wouldn't have lasted long, and indeed, there was no living soul left in this place.

Of course, once his dearest had arrived, everything must have come to an end quickly. Whatever unimportant specks had lived here, they would not have stood a chance against them.

From where he stood, the source of the omnipresent light was all the more apparent. It appeared to his eyes as a blinding luminance emerging from the base of the crystal tower, as if the sun itself had deigned to touch the earth. So close now. So close. 

A few of the dregs that remained tried to bar his path, but it took no time at all to dispose of them. His footsteps quickened the closer he came to the crystal tower. By the time he reached the broken aetheryte, he was all but running. Past the ruined walls, he could _see_ them even with his normal sight now.

But one final obstacle loomed between him and his friend. Another light-warped creature, with an irregular shape; smaller than the others and almost humanoid, were it not for the overlong arms with massive claws mounted on misshapen clumps that only barely resembled hands. Instead of the monotonous white surface the other ones sported, this one seemed to be overgrown with blue crystal that resembled the crystal tower ruins. Something to do with being too close to the building? Zenos was largely unfamiliar with its workings. For all he knew, it could infect those nearby, though it didn't seem to have done so with his dearest.

As he stepped into the plaza, the lesser one turned and approached. Did it mean to stop him, then? These beings really weren't capable of learning then, were they? Otherwise it would have realised that he had carved his way through the others remaining in the city already and would not be stopped by anything it could throw at him.

Nevertheless, it struck; swiped at him with a warped claw which glimmered with a sort of magic Zenos couldn't identify. He sidestepped the attack easily. The claw shattered under his sword, and the creature growled something that almost sounded like words, though perhaps that was just his imagination. 

In all this, his dear friend never even budged. Was he being tested, then? Did they wish to know whether they would be able to pass by this guardian? 

Far be it from him to deny them a spectacle, then.

The crystalline being lay at Zenos' feet, limbs shattered, barely twitching anymore. Strangely enough, its garbled words were almost easier to make out now. He thought it choked out the words 'warrior of light'. 

His solleret came down on its head, crushing it to pieces. That title should not be uttered by something like this. 'Twas beneath his dearest.

With that final nuisance settled, he turned around and gazed at them. Their radiance was blinding, a searing light concentrated into a tiny shape, though that tiny shape was now augmented by a crown made of bone and six enormous wings sprouting from their back. 

The awe Zenos felt was unlike anything he had ever experienced. They had acquired such brilliance during their time in this world. A fitting counter to the dark powers he had attained.

“My friend!“ he called. His voice sounded no different than it had on the Source, so fully had he molded this body to his needs. Part of him remained curious how he had mastered these skills so quickly and effortlessly, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't be needing them after this battle anymore, one way or the other. “The body thief told me you would not be returning, and so I have come here instead.“

He paused. There was no response from his friend. “I can sense such power radiating from you. As before, we reunite with sharpened fangs and claws, and newfound powers… but you are disinclined to waste our time with empty words, are you not? Then I shan't bore you any longer. Let us dance, my friend, my enemy, my love.“ 

He raised his sword at them. _That_ prompted a reaction. Their wings unfurled and spread to their full impressive span, almost akin to that of the largest of dragons, and they raised their sword to the heavens. It was not the blade Zenos was familiar with. Perhaps it was a manifestation of their new power much like their new shape was. 

A light flickered into existence at the tip of his friend's sword, then flared out and crashed against the shield Zenos barely managed to erect in time. Though it didn't break through, the impact alone flung him backwards against a wall. He pulled himself to his feet, laughter on his lips. Yes. This was exactly what he had wanted!

Against the full might of their radiance, he brought to bear every last shade of darkness at his disposal. Every beam of light, every rending slash by that sword deflected or countered. In return, the light burned away the dark whenever he came close to hitting them. Their battle pulverised the city ruins around them, but even as naught but the crystal tower remained, they fought on. 

It was such bliss. Finally they were acting out the story Zenos had imagined for so long. 

And just like all epics, theirs had to come to an end too. A stray flicker of light punched through his shield when it flickered briefly—out of exhaustion, perhaps, or a minor lapse of concentration—and embedded itself deep into his chest.

All at once, his muscles seized up. He fell to his knees, dropped sword clattering to the ground, and raised a shaking hand up to the entry site. It was spreading. The heat the flicker gave off slowly crept through his body, growing in intensity with every passing second. A fire lit within him, kindled by the one he loved most… 

His friend landed in front of him. They, too, had suffered damage during the fight. One of their wings had been torn off, and blood—no longer red, but golden—dripped from the wound all over their body. They were so… so beautiful. This close, their radiance was both soothing and unbearable. 

“My dearest,“ he gasped. Drawing breath had become difficult. His chest refused to expand fully. “Again you… bring me to my knees.“ He reached up, took hold of their hand and squeezed it. The gesture was not reciprocated, but their presence was enough. “To be here with you, like this… it fills me with such joy. Moreso even than after our previous encounter.“

His vision flickered into blinding light before returning to normal. Something like bile, bitter and scalding, rose in his throat. When he coughed it up, it too was stark white against the charred ground. 

“I… I see now. This will turn me into something akin to you...“ He smiled like he never had before. “Such a wonderful idea. The two of us together, for… as long as this world will last. Becoming one after a fashion, even.“ 

The spark's heat had grown into a raging inferno inside of him, but he welcomed it—cherished it, even. It was a gift from his dearest, closest, best friend in the world—all worlds, in sooth. Even as it stole the breath from his lungs and made him choke on liquid light, euphoria filled him to the core just as much as his beloved's radiance did. The blinding distortion of his vision seemed to frame them in a halo of sparks. It was fitting. Would that others could have seen them like this, in all their fearsome glory. They had never been afforded the awe they deserved by others… 

“It won't be long now, will it?“ He laughed—shakily, for his limbs had begun seizing up again. “Won't you… grace me with some final words, ere I become whatever it is you want me to be?“ 

But his friend remained silent, nary a twitch in their face as they looked down on him. Zenos felt… something at the sight. Something different from before. What was it? He could no longer tell. It would be fine to simply sit here and wait for the transformation to complete, wouldn't it? It was good to look at his friend, he remembered that much. 

It was good while the world grew quiet around him, as the noises of the living body he inhabited gradually stilled. 

It was good while his skin hardened into a pale carapace. 

It was good while the light—


End file.
